Ripped off on eBay, any recourse?

Hello. I bought an item off of eBay a while ago and sent the money the next day. I then never got the item. So I tried to contact the person and he said he would give me a refund but never did. So I waited patiently for his reply but never got one.
I then filed a report 40 days after the time I bought the item but there were a couple of problems. I closed my paypal account maybe 2 days after the transaction due to an identity theft reason (I was paranoid) and I opened a new account. I asked the paypal representative that if this was a problem and she told me no and it would be still investigated and then she filed the buyer complaint under my new account.
After about 2 months or so I never got a response and decided to call back for an update. Then the man told me that paypal investigated it and said there was nothing he can do because the transaction took place on an old account and that he will file another buyer’s complaint stating that I had to close the account due to identity fraud and told me to call back in 2 days.
So I call 2 days later and they tell me now that they cannot get my money back because I filed a complaint 2 days ago and it was not covered because they have a 45 day policy that says I cannot file a claim after 45 days. And that I am not eligible for the buyer’s protection because I closed the account that had the transaction on. And if I wanted to I can file a police report but they cannot give me a name, or email or anything.
I’m desperate Dave what should I do?! We’re talking about 150 dollars that I am out and that is a lot of money when you’re going through college!

Oh, I wish I had a good answer for you, but unfortunately the timing issues with eBay transactions are often a huge problem for fraudulent transactions: you can’t file a non-receipt too soon, because the seller might genuinely need a week or two to get it to the post office and shipping might take another week or three.
Then you are expected to go back and forth with the seller before filing a complaint because, well, they might have thought they shipped it but forgotten or any of a dozen other quite credible and legitimate reasons. Ideally, the situation should be resolved between the two of you anyway because as eBay likes to highlight, caveat emptor, let the buyer beware.
On the other hand, the more that there are fraud problems on eBay, the less people are going to want to use the service, so it’s clearly in their best interest to try and resolve this sort of problem. That’s why they have a fairly complex Buyer Protection Program.
Unfortunately, as you now know, you aren’t eligible for their $200 Standard Purchase Protection Program because of the time that’s passed. The fact that it passed because you were waiting for others to communicate with you (from eBay, Paypal, etc) is relevant to you, but not to them. 🙁
I have no good news to share with you, I’m afraid. I wish I did. Indeed, I think it’d be worth calling up eBay again and asking to talk with a supervisor, then laying out exactly the sequence of events, including dates of phone calls and communications. I would also strongly encourage you to leave negative feedback for the seller as a minimal step: without that someone else might well be suckered into the same con.
Good luck. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!Note: This article was written by contributing editor Chuck Eglinton. Thanks, Chuck!

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I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by
buying you a cup of coffee!

34 comments on “Ripped off on eBay, any recourse?”

Responding to what Tim said, on June 13, 2009 12:42 AM:
Read more at http://www.askdavetaylor.com/ripped_off_on_ebay_any_recourse.html#KfBjIsWTeaEM4UR7.99
Someone tried a variation of this scam on me last night. Bought a piece for $500 and the seller “accidentally” refunded my money. They then sent an invoice generously reducing the amount by $20.
I did a Google search on the seller and their address corresponds with a house that is not yet built.
I just got off the phone with Paypal. The purpose of the call was to report this activity but they sort of blew me off but assured me that I would have been refunded if I had payed the invoice. I remain skeptical that the claims department would have the same attitude.
Nevertheless, I thought Paypal’s reply would be helpful to this thread.

I purchased a travel trailer from Kurt Makoske in NY and he took my money and then resold the same trailer on ebay. I had sent a representative to pick up the travel trailer and Mr. Makoske refused. After much searching, I found that he had relisted the trailer and sold it again on ebay. So he got my money and the other person’s money too. I am still trying to get my money back.

ebay is a joke I bought a hoover then the seller sent me a pair of earings instead and over 100 other people got a pair of earings.
All ebay did was remove the seller as they new he was fraudlent. Asked me to send item back to a fraudlent seller, and then ebay would give me my money back once delivered or a fAILED ATTEMPT. Then ebay just closed the case instead of giving my money back with no reason so I am down postage on top. Seriously ebay is a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a way to treat 300 plus feedback buyer

I had similar experience , I purchased item and after 2 weeks I didn’t get anything I send an email to a seller. He told me that item should take about 6-7 weeks and he is apologizing , that it has to be manufactured since it was not some regular item as well it was part of the decription according to him.
So I waited a bit longer and obviously after 45 days nobody wanted to talk to me .
Ebay said we can’t do anything , PayPal apologies as well.
Now I see that seller has a good rating but he does not response to my emails. it was only $70 so I really do not understand why such seller behave like this.

I don’t like eBay now. Sellers are sending damage goods and are advertizing that it is new and basically mint. I got Christmas glass ornaments with peeling paint and I had to pay high shipping, with tracking number, so I can get my money back. EBay with its company PayPal do not take care of buyers from these sellers. Sellers get the damage good and put it back on eBay. I also believe that some of the sellers I dealt with are bidding on their own items. With the auctions of one seller, I often finish with by losing by one dollar the auctions and in less than a day they offer a second chance at the high price I bided. If it happens once or twice, it is fine, but it happened about 12 times in less than a month and I believe it is the result of them bidding on their own auctions to get maximum amount a person is ready to pay. I cannot prove it, but I decided to never bid on their auctions. I bought the first two times with second chance, but stopped as I noticed it was becoming frequent. Now it is all the illegal copies for movies and shows. I am stopping to use eBay because they do not take care of the problems that are plaguing their service. I prefer to buy at higher price in stores than being screwed on eBay.

I find eBay is ethically and morally bankrupt when it comes to protecting the consumers of their sites. They allow sellers to rip off consumers, posting of fakes, and the eBay cunster services representatives constantly lie to consumers over the phone and blame the consumers for the illegal actions and activities occuring on their own site.

I’m confused here, you speak of a 45 days to run out for an enquiry, yet i see people have chargebacks happens months and even up to a year after, infact just this week on tv there was a case where a woman had a charge back after 2 months. She had proof of delivery. Is this something different?

i was scammed by charles young, goes by puffismaximus on ebay. he continues to sell topps baseball vending boxes described as mint, i will never know because i never received them. he first said the box was returned to him , must have had my wrong address…..then flooding in PA so he couldn’t get to the post office….he was just waiting on the 45 days to run out…and they did…..so i am out $350….buyer beware….and ebay and paypal were no help….

agree with the guy ref opening a case on ebay and the seller seeing it…how dumb and slopy shouldered of the ebay lot.
Im a seller and buyer on the site and my foirst experience of being ripped off happened last week….the person had 98% positive out of 280 transactions and was the only person in the UK selling what i wanted so went for it. All my responses were firstly 1 or 2 word responses then nothing..the ignorant twat.
Opened a case and whatdya know..the arse replies saying he expects me to wait till tomorrw for the alleged tracking number, get in my car travel to the sorting office after i pay for parking and my petrol, ask if they have got an item for me….does this clown live in cuckoo land…for the 4 th time i have asked for a refund but if that fails then i will ask paypal to sort this and hopefully they will give me my cash back. Unfortunately if they just refund without recourse of the seller then this is wrong as the seller gets away with it (is this PayPal’s process?)…same applies if i leave neg feedback about this person they will of course give me some back and blemish my 100% status of the past 7 years.
its wrong and i am thinking of pulling the plug on using ebay unless they actually support me in on the back of my open case

I was ripped off by Ataka Imports, on ebay. They took my money and didn’t send the item. Because I was newbie at the time, I naively believed their assurance it was coming. As soon as I hit the 45 day date, afterwhich you can’t file a complaint or even leave bad feedback, the seller stopped responding and I’m out $30. Only a paltry sum but its the principle. The guy’s score was pretty high but not 100%. These guys know how to avoid getting their deserved bad scores by delaying you past 45 days, afterwhich you can’t bad score em. This guy’s no better than a mugger in an alley. For all listening, Ebay is very dodgy. Buy the old fashioned way if at all possible(ie in stores).

One word of CAUTION: ALL COMMENTS that a buyer enters when submitting a complaint (using ebay’s “contact us” form in their Resolution Center) will be sent directly to the seller – not just ebay customer service.
How f*ing stupid is that, especially if the seller has personal info on the buyer such as their home address.
ebay sucks – I’ll never trust that website.

Hi Mr. Taylor,
I’m an Ebay buyer. I bought a can opener from an Ebay seller located in Hong Kong.
The Ebay seller took 32 days to mail me the package and he also mailed me the package 32 days later after I paid him for the package. The can opener was also not working and I suspect that could be fake.
He asked me to pay him as a Paypal gift in order to avoid extra charges and Ebay refused to reimburse me because the transaction was not done through the Ebay website even was an Ebay product. Do you know what can I do?
Do I should contact the Department of Consumer Affairs of Hong Kong? or the Chinese police?
I’m not able to write a bad feedback about him either. I found other three victims of him.

I wish I had known about the Paypal 45 days limit for disputing auction items. I am a EBay newbie – Had bought about 3 or 4 things, mostly hard to get stuff here in Australia and never had any cause to complain. My son wanted a lego model no longer available over here – saw it on an American site paid $230 + 25 postage. Never thought to look at the feedback – This guy had about 5 items for sale anyway so he must be legit right ? No chance waited 6 weeks for the parcel to arrive and then sent an email 7 weeks and no response decided to look at the feedback. Just a huge list of negative ‘Item not sent’ comments and worse Paypal 45 day dispute limit has been and gone. So am out $260 and Alex doesnt have the model for his 9th Birthday. Angry about it – yes sir ! Would I buy from EBay again – not for a long while. My fault in the end for being so trusting and waiting like an arse for this thing to arrive. Lesson learnt – a few more vendors like xxxmercerxxx (that’s his name)and legit ones will have to try and find another outlet cos EBay will go the way of the dodo – with only scumbags trying to cheat other scumbags.

I need help, I I won a vehicle auction and paid the $500 deposits through pay pal. I hired a trucking company to pick up the vehicle I pay the balance with my debit card. The vehicle showed up was absolutely not as advertised call the seller and he agreed to take it back, I sent it back and he signed for it which cost me $900 plus the $4100 I paid. He won’t return my phone calls and he won’t issue a refund. EBay motors buyer protection is unwilling to get involved saying that because I returned the item they are not responsible. After many e-mails saying how sorry they were that I was experiencing these problems
their logic was you get a refund before you return the merchandise. What planet are they from
I explained to them that where do you get a refund before you return the merchandise? Also the seller did not supply a title for this vehicle it didn’t seem to matter eBay was not getting involved. I am out $5,000 can anyone help

Im so frustrated…I got ripped off by a seller from china.
then i left a feedback(fair) and he didnt like it.Since then he is bullying me online,saying horrible things via email everyday and i still didnt get the item. He used a trick(now i realised it)when i asked the money back,he said that my paypal account didnt accept the money rsrsrs so i was naive and i made a money request to see if it would work.It did.but them he began harassing me for a 5 stars feedback.Everyday i get a abusive email.Everything ebay says is “report the seller” i already did but he does not sound worried because he is still sending me horrible emails.

What about ebays policy protecting the seller from conflicting addresses. I sent a ball gown to a buyer who later admitted getting evicted from the address I was sent by ebay, she addmitted to NOT filing a change of address with the post office, or changing her address with ebay. Ofcourse the gown was lost in shipping and she said she never got it. She filed against me claiming I was scamming her, and ebay gave her back her money. They refused to let me file an apeal, and have refused to stand by thier own policy that supposedly protects sellers that are given conflicting addresses. So where is my protection as a seller? She neglects to update her shipping info and I have to pay the price?

turns out police don’t care had a chat to him and called me back n said its a civil matter so no matter if i win that or not he will have a clean record and be able to continue ripping people off. our law system in australia is shot

I just had an issue with a guy by the name gareth roberts brought 2 apple iPhone 4s he lives in barnsdale Vic, I paid no items revived says he sent it but won’t give me the tracking number of the parcil (because it was never sent) my bank chased him and came back with they can’t do any thing but several other issues with this guys account that are very similar to mine, file police report, they looking into it ?? Now I’m personally suing him for my money when I win he will have to pay the amount and my flights and accomidation to Melbourne but I’d rather him be charged with fraud than see my $2600 again the scum bag

I agree that there are dishonest sellers on sites such as Ebay but I would say that there are just as many dishonest buyers. The difference is that there are all kinds of plans set up to protect the buyers and NONE for the sellers. This just happened to me as the seller on Ebay. I sold an item for $10. I sent the item the next day and the buyer recieved and left positive feedback six days later. Three weeks pass, during which I recieve no contact from the buyer. This is an item I seller regularly and have over 50 positives on, over the preceeding three months and six occuring in the same week period as with this buyer. My first contact is a claim filed with Ebay stating the item does not work. The claim was filed one month after the sale and 25 days after delivery of the item. I offered to replace the item, but the buyer was only interested in a full refund including shipping and would only return the item I sent if paid for the return shipping as well as paid for their time and gas cost to mail it back. During a two hour time period I recieved five emails insulting me and making a series of false claims. I also recived a phone call where I was insulted and cussed at. All this over a ten dollar item that the buyer posted positive feedback on, three weeks earlier. They got their money back and got to keep the item. All the protection Ebay has set up to make certain buyers are not victimized can be used by dishonest buyers to make victims of sellers. According to published statistics about one in 200 sellers are dishonest while one in twenty buyers will try to get FREE things if they can. If this is accurate it means there are ten dishonest buyers for every one dishonest seller. Since Ebay changed it policies on refunds to favor buyers 99% of the tiem, claims for refunds have went up more than 400%.

There is not much you can do
ebay sucks when it comes to making sure verything is legit
they offer buyer protection but it doesnt work and the police will just laugh at you and say that their is nothing you can do
your basically screwed man

I honestly don’t see why anyone would close there PayPal account 2 days after purchasing an item. I am not trying to be rude but, WHY? You would HAVE to know better than do that right?
My BEST advice as an eBay member/Seller goes as follows.
1:
Don’t EVER NEVER NEVER EVER! Close your PayPal account for ANY ANY REASON if you still have an item in transit or pending you have purchased. NEVER – got it!
As a buyer on eBay you are protected – unbelievably protected compared to sellers. Sellers have the bad end because of scam artists out there. If you are intelligent enough to file a PayPal dispute then immediately escalate to claim than you will receive your money regardless if the seller gives it back to PayPal/eBay or not.
You have to understand that the people scamming on eBay are NOT hurting the buyers they are hurting eBay and the e-commerce services. The ONLY thing the buyer will have to go through will be time lost and time lost is MUCH better than money lost. I promise.
2:
Give a seller 2 weeks to ship – if not arrived or received a tracking number by this time (showing in transit) contact the seller immediately. If the seller does or does not respond within 3 days with verification in of transit then file a dispute and immediately escalate to claim.
Now the funds will be put on hold (most times if it is a scam then that users balance goes neg how ever much they stole from PayPal) either way you will get your money within 30 days. At this point if you just want a refund you will hope that they do not respond to the claim because if not then you will receive your moneys back normally within 7 days instead of the alternative 30 days.
IF AN ITEM SAYS AS IS PEOPLE LET BE AS IS – AS LONG AS IT WAS LISTED CORRECTLY!! DON’T LET YOUR LACK OF TACT AND OVER ABUNDANCE OF GREED OVERCOME YOUR BETTER JUDGEMENT, LIKE SOME PEOPLE HERE SAY!!! THAT IS MORALLY WRONG!!! STOP TAKING ADVANATGE OF GOOD SELLERS PEOPLE IT IS HARD ENOUGH FOR A LOT OF THEM TO MAKE IT ESPECIALLY THE ONES STARTING OUT!
With THAT said!
If you come across a super bad seller than chances are they are a scam and could care less about what steps you take to report them because they will never in a million years be caught!
Now here is some information on how easy it is for all this to occur.
eBay scam artists are pretty smart for the most part, others not so much and get caught pretty quick. All they need is a laptop about $50 in cash and a vehicle.
They need a freshly moved out home probably one that is posting for rent soon so to do this many will follow moving trucks around a few miles and see the destination. At this point once the home is found they then pull out their handy little laptop and search for an open WiFi conn. lots of people don’t give a rats @$$ about having a security key (until the police are knocking on their door)!
Anyhow, now that they have found a location and a wifi spot they then wait for the mail man! YES the mail man. This way they can access the last residents name and information easily for eBay/PayPal sign up. Now many people think because you switch your mailing addy at the postal office nothing will show up anymore!! WRONG!! I have had FEDERAL CHECKS!! YES FEDERAL go to my previous address MONTHS after I have moved! Now after they have the easy info they can easily obtain a 15 to 20 wireless dongle. They will buy a new one each time! After that is acquired they then go to any walmart or quick cash or kum n go / codys the mall ANY WHERE ALMOST and purchase a nifty prepaid debit card that does not even have a name on it!! Most of which even have a routing and account number for direct deposit! now they can simply use the last residents info to sign up for this not a big deal to them no problem, easy cheesy. I am trying to say it is all simple to do.
Now that they have the card in hand they have a few options on what to do with the phone number because you have to have one to sign up for eBay seller right?? RIGHT! Can you guess what happens here? I bet you can! They buy a prepaid phone, use the residents name and addy then the prepaid card to pay for it over the phone itself so not to be connected to them anyway shape or form. So now everything is acquired here is the list and the cost assuming they already own the laptop and are smart enough to use some sort of linux or other free boot cd to do everything on.
1. wireless dongle about – $15
2. prepaid CC at walmart $23
3 prepaid cell w/ ten free minutes – $20
So now they are out 58 bucks and are ready to make a few grand.
It only takes I would guess from time getting everything which can all probably be done at wally world 1 hour at most.
Now they take the wireless dongle and the reason it had to be new is so that the MAC address is different from the times before. then it gets burned or thrown away or maybe even sold or something. They connect it to the free wifi spot some idiot left open. they type in gmail.com or yahoo or any other free email site and make an email obviously connecting it to the residents addy! they THEN fill out all the pre info on eBay with the past residents name etc.. verifying the fake CC with the fake prepaid phone and then the eBay account is all set up hoorah!! YEAH RIGHT!! Next they do the same with PayPal linking the routing number and all to the card and all that lovely jazz. Now they are a verified member but they don’t sell yet NO NO that would be bad. So they buy up little useless bits of junk from sellers using that $20 card and get a few good positive feedbacks 20 bucks could get you 4 or 5 just enough to carry on.
after having positive feedback they get to sell sell sell what ever their little heart desires! need a new laptop? a new cell phone? a new CAR?? Well now they have it in the list! Now as for the 21 day hold. That is easy as well they “accidentally” refund the customer and have to ask for the money again and then send an invoice not linked to eBay and that is that. I have done the paypal 21 day hold thing before but I actually had the stuff and sent it. It is easy to get away with. Or they could also use moneybookers for it all as well doesn’t really matter. Point is now the scam artist has your money and *if they are good! Got away scott free to scope the next uhaul truck leaving the store. Counting a few thousand they just made over the past 3 days… Linking everything back to the past resident to be arrested as it may or may not happen. They would probably get off scott free once they see on the walmart or video surveleince that was not the same guy buying the stuff with the hat and big cheap sunglasses on. looking like the everyday joe with a mustache in the white tee and common colored jeans! Driving the unmarked or licensed / tagged mini van or common colored car. That looks blurry as can be in security cams NOPE that is not the resident AT ALL!! ( personal note: you know I always wondered why they made those so badly you would figure they would put at least a few megapixels in them so they can see the person robbing them!)
How do I know this stuff? How do I not! The saying you have to be a criminal to think like one is total BS. This should all be obvious to ANYONE out there. But the problem is they prey on the idiots of the world who know no better, like my mother or father for instance. You can’t really tell who is good or bad in all honesty. You really cannot, but you can be defensive and you will ALWAYS get your money back. It will just be a waste of your time in the end and probably leave you with a bad taste in your mouth towards even the best of sellers out there….
So Follow my first couple of rules with PayPal and you are set. If you don’t use PayPal call your credit card company within 2 weeks and just file a non receipt of goods complaint and you will get your money back. The scam artists are killing me and probably putting a big hole in PayPal pockets as well.
THIS ALSO WORKS FOR BUYERS ONLY IT IS MUCH EASIER FOR A BUYER TO SCAM!! MUUUUCH EASIER. THEY NEED LESS INFO AND ANY ACCOUNT INFORMATION AS LONG AS THEY HAVE AN EMPTY RESIDENCE TO HAVE THERE ITEM DELIVERED TO WITHIN A FEW DAYS!!
Any how here is your lesson kiddos of the world there will always be scam artists from the ones on the streets selling knockoffs to the ones online selling thin air. There is no way around it and never will be so don’t complain. Just roll with the punches and get your money back and let the big brother suffer, because its not a buyers loss except time and anxiety. Don’t worry bout it!

I was ripped off on ebay i sold this guy a $30,000 ring for $12,000 I got what i thought was a conformation email from ebay telling me i had sold the item so i sent it to romania and have not recieved any moneys for it its been over a week now i have proff that he has the ring is there anything anyone can do to help me?

Have been screwed over by buying Ebay trike from Johnny Walker Denver Colo. No transmission in trike drove less than 10 miles the wiring is geriged. Seller will come up with $250.00 where
I have to co pay $2500.00 to get fixed .WHAT A RIP OFF THIS . THERE HAS TO BE A RECOURSE TO AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR THIS.
DOUG

Yes another sucker! This scammer had all pos feedback so I didnt hesitate.I paid via bank deposit which I have always done straight away. Two days later the seller emails me to say the payment hasnt turned up yet and I can post it to a mail address.Later that day ebay informs me that they have suspended the sellers account for reasons only known to them and that I should not pay for item or ask for a refund.First problem, once account is suspended you cant contact seller through ebay.Next ebay wont do a thing to help you due to privacy laws,so communication is impossible.Emails get bounced from seller and letters dont get answered.Then the police give me the runaround because they dont want to be bothered with ebay problems saying “serves you right”.Solution…never deal with ebay again and warn everyone about what can happen.Sorry to all the genuine sellers but until ebay can get their act together and offer genuine protection to buyers stear clear.

I too have been scammed on eBay, eBay’s repose has shocked me and I certainly will tell everyone who will listen why you should NOT by via this site.
I purchased a laptop with a legal copy of Windows XP Pro. I paid and about 3 weeks later the laptop arrived (so much for the 2-7 days postage). The laptop had no COA from Microsoft but was a working copy of XP, after the fist updates from Microsoft the machine would no longer allow me to login so I call Microsoft to be told you are using an illegal copy and face fines…. I lodged a dispute with eBay and after 2 months of broken promises I sent my dispute to the Trust and Security Team. Ha what a laugh, the seller is still trading selling the same to other unsuspecting buyers and eBay lets them trade. They look after the sellers as thats where they get their fees, as long as they are getting fees they don’t give a toss.
They referred me to the police and this was the polices response. I you bought a laptop from xmart and you have a problem do you come to the police? No you take it back to xmart no mater where they got it it is their problem. eBay seems to think it can get away with allowing these scams to go on and then instead of taking care of the buyer they protect the seller (try get a sellers address from eBay) and try to get the tax payer to fit the bill by sending anyone with complaints to the police. If xmart and all the other store had to do that the police (already understaffed and resourced) would not be able to even respond to crimes.
So I lost my money but left the seller negative feedback explaining the problem (in the small space you are provided). The seller responded by leaving me negative feedback saying I sell stolen and faulty goods and my 100% positive feedback is ruined. I contacted eBay who said they would not remove feedback even if they are lies but I could apply to have my feedback to the seller removed which would also clear his feedback to me. WHAT???? I must remove my feedback warning other buyers that this seller sells illegal software to remove his feedback which is all lies??? I don’t think so, no wonder he has only good feedback, eBay ensures that by making you remove your negative feedback to the seller in order to clear your name.
3 months on and this crook is still scamming away on eBay and nothing gets done, a few others have dared to give him negative feedback but some have given in to clear their names, eBay only looks after the person paying them fees and that my friends is the seller.
P.S. The police case was closed as the police were unable to track the seller via the mobile number and wrong address supplied to them by eBay.

Lions, tigers, and bears old my. With all the latest supernatural shows on the tube buyers are flocking to Ebay for haunted items and paying hundreds to thousands of dollars. Give me a break!
Wake up everyone and see the haunted sellers for who they are. While you are out working to make a living they are sleeping till noon and waiting for you to arrive home so they can get some of your hard earned cash.
There are hundreds of genies being shipped from Egypt which must keep the post offices busy. Witches are flying straight through the airwaves to bring you some of their haunted loot. There are writers, movie stars, investigators, just to name a few. People are buying into it and Ebay is to blame.
There will always be thieves wanting easy money as well as gullible, lonely, desperate people who buy into the crap. Ebay should be forced to close the category but they do nothing. Think about it the next time you are tired but need to get up for work anyway. The haunted sellers will be snug in bed while their fairys, sugar plums and your hard earned money dance in their heads.
By the way my niece spent $1000 for a Egptian genie ring and received a $10 ring.

Rip offs like this are very common on eBay. It’s happened to me several times. However eBay is always reluctant to help a buyer over it’s sellers because eBay only makes money from seller in all sorts of fees! The don’t get one cent from buyers! Until a more legitimate auction site comes along, don’t buy from any seller with more than 1 or 2 negative feedback!

Actually…. a little bit of assertive persuasion can pay off in these situations.
First, let me suggest that you only buy in the future from sellers who have STRONG positive feedback histories over a significant time period (not the new sellers if it’s a bigger ticket item).
Should you have a problem –
email the seller and nicely tell them that you want to return the item for a refund. If they say no then tell them that by xxx time on xxx day (I give about 3 business days usually), if you don’t have a full refund you will be:
1. heading to the post office to file federal internet fraud charges. (the word FEDERAL usually gets people’s attention)
2. you will next be contacting the person’s local police department
3. if you paid by check tell them you will contact your back to reverse the charges due to online fraud.
4. if paypal – you can file a complaint with paypal but tell them first before you do it and give the seller time to respond
5. The FBI has an internet fraud division where you can file a report
6. for jewelry there is a national fraud center where you can file a fraud report.
Tell the seller that you would prefer NOT to go to this trouble but would prefer to just send the package back and get your money returned and you are sure that he doesn’t want any headaches either so you’re sure he’ll be happy to work with you.
If you DO mail the package back make CERTAIN you send it insured and requiring a signature on receipt. Delivery confirmation is a useless feature that will not protect you if the seller says they never received the refund. That feature is simply a scan of the package and does not offer the same protection as a signature.
I’ve helped my customers deal with rotten sellers for years now and this almost always works. If the seller disconnect their email, try sending from a different email address or having a friend forward your email since they often are blocking you deliberately. Also, you can look up phone numbers on a number of online sites or get contact information by searching the person’s name on google (put it in quotes for a more exact search).
Good luck! Online auction items should always be guaranteed by the seller since you can’t look at them before buying. Like anywhere else though, there are bad apples in every bunch which is unfortunate since buying online can be rewarding and fun!

TAKE CHARGE!! When all else FAILS (ebay et al) you have TWO LAST DITCH remaining actions you can take. Call your charge card company and request a CHARGE BACK against paypal in the same amount you lost. They will ask you to fax a signed statement and provide evidence of the transaction. 30 days later you will get ALL your money back but maybe at the expense of a lost paypal account(?) Or get a simple demand letter from a lawyer forcing ebay to take further action against the fraudulent seller. good luck…

I have to agree with Dave here. I once had to do with a very dishonest and abusive seller. He had learned so well how to game the system that in the end, I only lost time trying to deal with eBay. If the time of the person with the question has some value, they would be better off avoiding eBay in the future and writing it off to bitter experience.
I just won’t use eBay anymore having had the occasion to deal with their support and investigations department. eBay is really a vile company. There’s a whole lot of fraud going on there.
The only occasion where I see it worth dealing on eBay is for difficult to find items low to medium-priced items which are hard to find locally or prohibitively expensive new.